MOBILE, Ala. -- Four years ago, Pat White was Denard Robinson, only rather than embracing a position change, White tried to make the NFL as a spread-offense quarterback who was better with his legs than his arm.

The Miami Dolphins took White in the second round of the 2009 draft, played him sparingly in wildcat packages as a rookie, then cut ties with him in training camp the next fall.

White turned briefly to minor league baseball, an attempt he said to hide from the person he was. Now at 26, a year and a half after being released by the UFL’s Virginia Destroyers, is hoping for another chance in the NFL.

“I think it is a good time,” White said Wednesday. “The NFL’s becoming more open to the idea (of a spread quarterback). They see it works. (San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin) Kaepernick took his team to the Super Bowl and will be pretty hard stopping offensively. It’s something that they fought for a while, but it’s starting to make its way into the league.”

White made the rounds at the Senior Bowl this week, reintroducing himself to teams and letting them know of his comeback plans. Unlike Michigan’s Robinson, who practiced at receiver this week, White said he still hopes to make it as a quarterback.

He attempted five passes without a completion and ran for 81 yards in his brief stint with the Dolphins.

“I’m going to do everything I can to keep playing that position,” White said. “If it doesn’t work out that way, then we’ll have to adjust when the time comes.”

White, who played for former U-M coach Rich Rodriguez at West Virginia, said he was a fan of Robinson in college, thinks he’s “a great player” and wishes him well in his transition to receiver.

But White said he doesn’t see many similarities between him and Robinson, who broke White’s NCAA FBS record for most career rushing yards by a quarterback.

Note: New Cleveland Browns coach Rob Chudzinski has hired former Detroit Lions assistant Joe Cullen as his defensive line coach. Cullen spent the past three seasons with Jacksonville. Before joining the Jaguars, Cullen was at Idaho State and spent three seasons (2006-08) with the Lions, including his infamous incident when he drove drunk and naked through a Wendy's drive-thru lane.